People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
