People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"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 connection and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
