Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty 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 proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
