People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge 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 happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
