Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
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 meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
