Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
