Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told 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."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond 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 change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
