People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"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 continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
