Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
