People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach 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 world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed 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, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
