People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses 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 some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
