People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
