People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
