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

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they told 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."

Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.

They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."