People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought 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 receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared 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."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
