Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
