Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
