People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
