Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table 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."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials 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 senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
