Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy 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 acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"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 sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
