Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
