Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
