People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
