People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
