Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, 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 felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
