People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders 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."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
