People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops 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 participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
