People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust 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 eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed 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, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
