People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
