People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
