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

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged 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 "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

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 Canada.

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

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

Canon Law Changes

The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue 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, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.

They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."