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Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

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

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

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

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they noted.

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.

They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."