People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated 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 Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
