Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
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 recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance 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 pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
