Victims of Church Religious Sex Abuse Express Hope Following Meeting with the Pontiff

People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met 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 the representative.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, 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 continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.

Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."