People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"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 seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
