Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
