Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting 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 leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of 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 proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"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 bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
