People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position 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 institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate 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 consulted specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
