People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
