Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report 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 Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
