People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told 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."
Following 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, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
