Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
