Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
