People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate 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. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
