People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand 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 bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
