People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
