Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
