People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
