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Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the problem 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 gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared 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 want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope 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 Hickey.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

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

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.

Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."