Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
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 acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity 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 noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
