🔗 Share this article

Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting 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 early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding 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 revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

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

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed 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 encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.

Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."