People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged 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 resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
