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People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Strict Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

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

They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

"We understand 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 relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.

They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."