Individuals who experienced 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 decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
