Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, 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 characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," 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 changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
