People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, 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 female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process 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 victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
