People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation 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 conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
