People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven 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 resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
