People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits 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 certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel 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 Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
