People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes 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 North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
