Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
Eva de Vries is a passionate book lover and local writer from Eindhoven.
