People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
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 leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen 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 spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
