People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise 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 step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
