Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes 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 Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
