People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty 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 the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
