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Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach 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 already been adopted in the United States.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

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

Significant Encounter

Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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

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

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.

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

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "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 progress.

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

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