Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "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," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible 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 meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
