Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads 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 commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
