Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused 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," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
