People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience 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 giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
