People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
