People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff 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 pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted 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 Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
