Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need 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 start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
