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People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

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

Significant Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

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

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

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

After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

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

Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."