People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
