People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, 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 woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
