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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

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

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

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

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

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

They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."