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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

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

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Issue

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

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance 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 noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.

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