People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, 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," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
