People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member 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 "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
