People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey 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 relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
