Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
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 Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
