Individuals who experienced sexual 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 pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
