People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
