People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered 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 noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
