🔗 Share this article

Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.

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

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel 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 held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed 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."

Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."