People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
