Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage 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 happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
