People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
