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

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.

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

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.

They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."