People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
