Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned 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 abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
