People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
