People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
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For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
