People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
