Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
