People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
