People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
