People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized 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 stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance 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 repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
