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People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

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

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.

They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."