Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"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 relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
