People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report 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 repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning 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 voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
