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

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed 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 want to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.

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