People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group 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 already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized 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 stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
