People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"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 build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
