Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
