🔗 Share this article

People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage 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 be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.

Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."