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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated

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

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

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.

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

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.

Accountability Emphasized

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

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.

They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."