People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
