People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach 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 child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
