People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope 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 Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
