People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described 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 "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
