Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, 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 described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
