People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" 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 taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey 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, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
