Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"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 genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
