People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After 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 bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
