Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope'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 zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process 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 church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
