Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions 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 new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
