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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

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

The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.

Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."