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People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated

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

The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.

"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.

"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 connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.

Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."