People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff 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 "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
