People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is 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 realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
