Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"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 continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
