People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
