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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Legacy Issue

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

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.

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