People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
