People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, 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 unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity 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 survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
