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People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding 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 canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, 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 victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims 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 very open and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."