People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope 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 Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
