People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized 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 personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out 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 informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."