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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

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

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "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," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."