Survivors of Church Religious Sex Abuse Voice Hope After Encounter with Pope Leo

People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

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

Global Strict Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

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

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey 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 giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.

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