People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping 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 present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they 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 building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
