People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first 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 soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought 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, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
