People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
