Individuals who experienced 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, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope 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 encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
