People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
