People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand 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 step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
