Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
