People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol 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 "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
