People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy 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 approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
