People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"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 Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
