Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff 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 the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
