Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, 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 keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
