People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented 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," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
