Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors 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 facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
