People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
