Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted 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," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
