Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced 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 building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
