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People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

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 minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.

Legacy Issue

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

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.

They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."