Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
