Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."