Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping 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 present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction 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 optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
