Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
