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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first 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 tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed

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

The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

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

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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

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

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

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.

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