People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
