People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first 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 dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed 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 summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
