Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
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 resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence 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."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
