Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
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 minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
