People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
