People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
