Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
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 addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
