Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance 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 "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed 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 continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
