People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
