People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions 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 work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
