People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy 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 minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
