People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
