People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
