Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged 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 Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized 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 common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We understand 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 move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
