People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, 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," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
