People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
