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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Strict Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.

Legacy Challenge

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

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

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For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

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

After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.

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