People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a move 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 change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
