Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step 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 story concludes - he valued that."
