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People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global 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 US.

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 recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

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

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.

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

They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."