Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member 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 certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged 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 haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism 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 connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
