People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses 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 certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
