Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent 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 negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
