People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
