Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own story 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 making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
