People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered 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 failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
