Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
