Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
