Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating 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 the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
