Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
