Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage 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 happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
