People who endured sexual 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, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism 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 move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded 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."
