Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted 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."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
