Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, 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 issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
