People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest 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 common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
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 listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
