Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
