🔗 Share this article

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

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Global Strict Approach Pushed

The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

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

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.

"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."