People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
