Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
