People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
