People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table 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 collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
