Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
