People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive 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 different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
