Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate 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 want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed 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 persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."