Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach 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 Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
