Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope 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," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue 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 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.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
