People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims 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 genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise 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 build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
