People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard 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 native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
