People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step 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."
