Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
