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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Approach Pushed

The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.

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

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged 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 the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

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

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.

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

"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the meeting, Hickey 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 strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.

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