Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
