People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors 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 very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
