🔗 Share this article

People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

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

"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

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 negligence."

The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

After the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

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