People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions 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 Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, 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 relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
