Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
