People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials 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 emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
