Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted 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 account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced 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 continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
