People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open 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 worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
