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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

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

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

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

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."