People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
