Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope 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.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, 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," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise 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 bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
