Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits 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 world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
