People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following 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 meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit 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 deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
