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

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.

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For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.

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

Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."