People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
