Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
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 recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
