People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded 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."
