People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits 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 current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance 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 victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise 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 bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
