Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
