People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest 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 "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope 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 strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
