People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims 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, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
