Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned 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 "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
