People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared 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 collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the Pope 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 encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
