Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy 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.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered 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 negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
