Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope 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," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"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 genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage 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 conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
