Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually 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 the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, 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 woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
