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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads 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 tackling the problem.

Global Strict Policy Pushed

The organization is advocating for a global 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 US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

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

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise 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 step in the correct path," they commented.

They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."