People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that changes 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," they remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel 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 made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
