Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report 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 report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
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."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
