People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group 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 approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table 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."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
