People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
