Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
