Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable 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 reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared 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."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
