People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
