Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed 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 meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
