People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
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 described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
