Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
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 present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
