Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought 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, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
