People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed 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 connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
