People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
