People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives 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, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
