Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
