People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced 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 relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
