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Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Policy Pushed

The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted 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 recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.

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