Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
