People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want 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 over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
