People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope'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 zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled 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 "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
