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

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated

The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

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

Inherited Issue

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

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

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

Canon Law Changes

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

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

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.

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

Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."