Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. 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 pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After 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 establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
