Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
