🔗 Share this article

Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, 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 woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.

Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."