People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope 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 leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
