People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff 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 the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
