Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits 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 certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
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 conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
