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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after 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 engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" 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, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will present to Pope Leo.

"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

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

Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.

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