Victims of Church Religious Sexual Abuse Express Hope Following Encounter with the Pontiff

People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed

The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, 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 added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."