Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach 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 US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
