People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized 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 "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted 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 very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"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 step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
