Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed 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 correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
