People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
