🔗 Share this article

Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Global Strict Policy Advocated

The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "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 felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."