Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, 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, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed 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 continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
