Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
