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People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged 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 the representative.

The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.

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