People who endured sexual 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 Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
