People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"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 connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
