People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
