People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After 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 relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
