People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."