People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
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 resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
