People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
