People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story 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 giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed 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, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
