People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
