People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
