People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
