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People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Strict Policy Pushed

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

The Pope 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 remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.

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

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

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

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

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

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.

"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 build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."