Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue 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 relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
