Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "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 canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
