Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
