People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
