People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope 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 account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "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 future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
