Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group 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 already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
