People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented 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," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
