People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
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 hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
