🔗 Share this article

Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

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