People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, 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," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
