People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented 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 Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
