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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."

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

Canon Law Reforms

The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.

"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.

Accountability Emphasized

A recent 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 negligence."

The report also noted 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 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, they voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.

Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."