People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
