People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed 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," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
