People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
