People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard 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.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted 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 noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
