Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open 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 worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
