People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
