People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates 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 "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
