People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
