People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
