People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
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 Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
