People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
