Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff 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 pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
