Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
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 Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned 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 failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
