People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually 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 world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope 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, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
