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People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Global Strict Approach Pushed

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.

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

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.

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

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.

"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

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

Path Ahead

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

After the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.

They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."