Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member 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. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, 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 felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
