People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
