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People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

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

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

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

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing 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 narrative ends - he appreciated that."