Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
