Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
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 found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, 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 the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
