People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, 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 woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added 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."
