People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff 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 pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued 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 sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk 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, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
