People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global 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 certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
