Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged 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," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol 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 "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
