Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released 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 noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
