Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
