Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
