Individuals who endured 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 Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"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 seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
