Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added 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 sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation 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 conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
