Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
