People who endured abuse by church officials 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 papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
