Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate 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, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
