Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
