Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
