Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, 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 abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
