Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended 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 female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
