Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand 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 bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
