People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told 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."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
