People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, 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 story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
