Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors 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 pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
