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People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.

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

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

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

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

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

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together 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: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."