People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
