Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
