Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is 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 conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
