People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
