Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, 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.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
