Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
