People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
