Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, 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 tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
