Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
