Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
