People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism 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 engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic 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 drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story 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 making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
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."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
