People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
