Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions 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 personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move 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 story concludes - he valued that."
