People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
