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People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

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

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

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

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

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

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.

They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."