Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization 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 minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "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 canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
