Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, 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.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered 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 church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
