People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought 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, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue 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 relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
