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Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.

Legacy Challenge

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

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

They added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Emphasized

A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."