People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
