Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, 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 described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
