🔗 Share this article

Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

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

Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.

"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.

Accountability Highlighted

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

The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.

Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."