People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, 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 own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
