Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
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 a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted 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 pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
