People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
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."
