Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
