People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, 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," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
