Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise 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 persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
