People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
