People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo 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 spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
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 resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced 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 strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
