Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following 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 connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
