People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared 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 aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "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 understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
