People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after 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 early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to 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 story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."