People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
