Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
