Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged 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 the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
