People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance 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 stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue 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 revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."