Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
