Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
