People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope 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 relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
