People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope 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 leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff 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 future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
