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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

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

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.

Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."