People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
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.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey 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."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
