People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
