People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope 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 pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
