Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct 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 concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"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 persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
