People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy 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," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully 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 eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope 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 relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
