People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
