People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
