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

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated

The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

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

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

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

After the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.

They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."