People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged 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," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, 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 described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
