People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought 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 work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."