People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, 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 role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors 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 collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand 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 bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
