People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise 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 strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
