People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
