People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
