People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told 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 encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
