Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise 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 relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
