People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
