Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, 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 listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
