Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
