Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
