People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope 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 spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand 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 step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
