People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
