People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
