As cardinals gather for conclave, activist hopes new pope will address sexual abuse crisis

As the College of Cardinals gathers in Vatican City for the secretive process that will elect a new head of the Roman Catholic Church, one activist is cautiously optimistic the next pope will commit to fighting sexual abuse within the church.

On Wednesday, the process known as conclave will commence. Pope Francis died last month at 88 years old.

Ending Clergy Abuse board president Gemma Hickey is currently in Rome to urge the church to shift its policy on clerics accused of sexual abuse, including canon law reform and mandatory reporting.

"We're asking to prioritize the protection of children and vulnerable people over predators. I mean, it's as simple as that," Hickey told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.

Hickey says whoever is elected in the secret vote will "set the tone" going forward.

"I'm optimistic in general. I mean, I always try to approach things from a hopeful perspective. It's just the way that I am," they said, adding they have a meeting scheduled with a cardinal and there's hope to set up more.

"We're really just working hard here on the ground to ensure that our message gets through."

Whether a candidate to replace Francis is conservative or progressive, Hickey says they are looking at their record on how they have handled sexual assault allegations.

Hickey says they're lobbying the College of Cardinals to prioritize the well-being of the vulnerable and for Francis' successor to build on the work already done on addressing sexual abuse.

"Survivors deserve more than symbolic gestures and words. We want concrete actions. And so we were pushing for those reforms as a group with changing canon law," they said.

Ending Clergy Abuse recently released a statement condemning a cardinal who had been sanctioned by the late pope for sexual abuse, but had been allowed to participate in the conclave.

"That certainly feels like a slap in the face and it doesn't really start the conclave off on the right tone. So that's why it's important again, for us to have a presence here and to bring attention to this," said Hickey.

"That's why we're really pushing for canon law reforms. Only the pope can make those changes."

While Pope Francis brought in some changes, Hickey says they aren't being implemented.