People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
