Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
