People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
