Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
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," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, 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 the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
