People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
