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

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

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

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.

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

Personal Connection

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage 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 conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.

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