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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

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

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

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

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

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.

"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."