People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
