People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, 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 believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials 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 made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
