People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism 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 persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
