People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"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 continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
