People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders 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 discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
