Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting 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 leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged 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 resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity 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 consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
