People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
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 acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized 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," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, 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," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, 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 stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
