Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented 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.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
