Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
