Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"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 persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
