People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling 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 found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
