Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed 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 encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded 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."
