People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized 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 resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
