Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted 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 receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
