People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
