People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
