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People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

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

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.

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

Historic Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

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

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

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

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.

They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."