Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, 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 church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
