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

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

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

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

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

After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.

Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."