People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, 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," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following 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, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
