People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
