People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand 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 continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
