People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge 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 happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
