People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation 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 negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
