Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" 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 decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience 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 giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
