People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
