People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, 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 native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told 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 understand 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 strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
