People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition 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," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
