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People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Challenge

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

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

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

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

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

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

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.

Accountability Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance 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 pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

After the encounter, 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 relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

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