People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk 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 conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
