Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty 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 globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
