Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended 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 woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, 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 stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
