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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 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 "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

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

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process 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 consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step 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 alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."