People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope 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 stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"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 sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
