People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" 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 role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand 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 bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
