People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, 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 longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
