Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, 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 story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
