People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
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 child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
