Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
