People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
