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People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

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

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.

The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.

Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."