People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
