People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope 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 engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, 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 building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."