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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

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

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

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For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

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

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

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

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

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

Moving Forward

The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.

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