People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise 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 relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
