Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"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 strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
