People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
