People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide 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 "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials 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 risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
