Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
