People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution 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 personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
