People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted 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 noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning 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 realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
