Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
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.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
