People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure 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 end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
