People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
