Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism 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 establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
