Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach 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 United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged 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," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
