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

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Strict Approach Pushed

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

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"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 sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

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

The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they commented.

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