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People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Strict Approach Pushed

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

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

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.

Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."