People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff 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 Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
