Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
