Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"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 eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
