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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

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

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.

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

Personal Link

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

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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.

They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.

They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."