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

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

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

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 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.

They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."