People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
