People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. 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 Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey 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 hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
