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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed

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

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Issue

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

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

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

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

Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.

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