Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance 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," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, 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 victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
