People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced 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 build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
