Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff 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," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
