People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned 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 "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
