Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
