People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise 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 commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
