Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
