🔗 Share this article

People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated

The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.

They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."