Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest 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 world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope 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 meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
