Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope 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 meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. 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 recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
