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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

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

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pontiff acknowledged 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 pushback," they remarked.

Legacy Issue

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

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

Personal Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

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

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.

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

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.

They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."