People who endured 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, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction 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 participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
