Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating 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 already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
