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

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal 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 giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

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

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.

"We understand 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 continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.

They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."