People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism 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 establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
