🔗 Share this article

People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution 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 measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own story 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 making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they informed the Pope 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 voiced 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 establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.

Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."