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Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Global Strict Policy Advocated

The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"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 genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."