People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist 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 work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
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 described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey 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 canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told 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 meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
