People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following 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 leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document 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 survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism 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 connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
