People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced 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 building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
