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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

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

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed 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."

After the encounter, Hickey expressed 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 building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

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