Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized 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 document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction 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."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
