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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach 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 the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.

Legacy Challenge

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

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

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

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

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.

Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."