People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start 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 hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
