People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" 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 feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
