People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing 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 dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
