Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual 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 activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand 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 correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
