Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned 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 "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
