People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach 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.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting 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 alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
