People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
