Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, 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, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
