Individuals 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, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
