People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
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 described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, 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 relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
