People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following 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 commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to 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 appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
