People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move 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."
