People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After 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, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
