Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
